Suzanne Boak

"I'm an operations manager so leading people and teams to achieve business goals is a part of my every day role, so Manager is useful to me daily. I have strong relationships with the wider business and take feedback to campaign for better working practices for the team. Campaigner helps me to influence team members and get them on board with new initiatives. I also encourage the board to make business decisions that take into account operational practices and HR needs. "

"I oversee the key operational parts of the business e.g. what makes the business run day to day. These include our workshop where we prepare our bikes for despatch, customer service, HR and I.T. I ensure that the teams meet their key performance indicators (goals) and deliver the strategy that's been agreed for that department. I provide support and guidance to line managers and communicate regularly with the wider team to understand what's working well, if they have any issues and support them to overcome them. I lead the Equity and Diversity strategy for the business and determine what actions we take to ensure that we deliver them. This means I'm very closely involved in recruitment and performance management of the team. I write policies for HR to ensure that we're moving forward with changing work practices and guide the team and board to deliver to our standards. I'm also in charge of delivering lean across the business (Lean is a tool to remove waste from processes to make them more effective). I work with the various departments to implement lean practices and training. I love working with people and as an operations manager, I'm involved in a large part of the business that is crucial to delivering to customer needs. It's very satisfying to support others to achieve their personal and business goals and I feel happiest when I can see that the team are developing and achieving their goals. Equity and Diversity is very important to me and I love researching, planning and implementing new ways of working to ensure that we're supporting people as individuals and making Islabikes a welcoming place for all regardless of who they are or what background they come from. This leads to many other aspects of our business such as the way we market our brand and encouraging the wider cycling industry to improve Equity and Diversity. I started as a Customer Service Advisor at Islabikes and within 3 months was promoted to Customer Service Manager. This led to my current ro"

"My mum initially inspired me to apply for a job at Islabikes. I was worried that because I didn't have any cycling experience I wouldn't be given the job. She told me that Islabikes was a great place to work but also that they'd be lucky to have me! This gave me the confidence boost I needed. Now that I'm working at Islabikes I'm inspired by various people in the team. Firstly Isla Rowntree the founder of Islabikes, is a female entrepreneur working in a male dominated industry. She was told that no one would buy expensive children's bikes when she set up the business and we're still going strong over 12 years later. My colleague Sarah is also of huge inspiration. She's a mum with a 4 year old and works full time. She always has time for others and supports their needs regardless of how she's feeling or how little sleep she gets!"

"Working at Islabikes it's quite hard to avoid cycling. I always cycled as a child and started cycling to work when I first moved to Shropshire. I now have a road and a mountain bike and take part in different challenges such as the Shropshire Highland Challenge, the Clun Sportive and a 2 day cross country mountain bike ride. I also make pottery, I'm a photographer and enjoy drawing. I'm a Trustee for the board of Grow, Cook, Learn: a charity based in Craven Arms, Shropshire. It connects people with the local environment, landscape, history and food. "

"I start at 8am and respond to my emails. I then speak to the various teams to see what they've got on that day and whether they need any support. I'll have a chat with all the different members of the team to check that they're all feeling ok and if not, ensure they're getting the support they need. If there's a big task like a container unload or a manager needs some HR support I'll step in and work with the team. This helps me to understand the teams better and what their current frustrations might be so I can then make changes or suggest improvements to board/other managers. Each week I update my to do list and I'll pick something from the list dependent on how high a priority it is for me. This could be related to lean, performance improvement, improving management skills and behaviours, recruitment, equality and diversity or an operational need such as improving communication or moving business locations. Through the day I might have different meetings to attend, regular ones are management meetings or health and safety catch ups. I also complete monthly 1-2-1s with the team members I line manage. Through the day I'm normally approached by different individuals who need advice, support or a decision. "

"Secondary education (GCSE/O-Levels) 11 GCSEs A* - C grade Post secondary education (College, A-levels, NVQ3 or equivalent) A Level Photography B, Art B, Psychology A Vocational qualification (Diploma, Certificate, BTEC, NQV4 or equivalent) Undergraduate degree (BSc, BA, etc.) BA Hons Degree Photography and Film 2:1 Extended Diploma in Management and Leadership Level 5 "